Music

All Things Considered

6:12 pm

Fri February 1, 2013

The ukelele has never gotten the respect it deserves. When you think of one, you may think of something like Tiny Tim's famous falsetto version of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." But the ukelele has come a long way.

The Exchange

4:00 pm

Sun January 20, 2013

We sit down with Marco Werman, host of the Public Radio program “The World”. This summer he came to New Hampshire, promoting his new film about Senegalese musician and activist Youssou N'Dour. We’ll learned more about it and talked with Werman about his long career at “The World”, from the huge political and cultural shifts he’s covered, to his particular interest in uncovering unique music from around the globe.

All Things Considered

5:57 pm

Thu January 17, 2013

A New Hampshire schoolteacher is one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year.

Heidi Welch is director of the music department at Hillsboro-Deering High School. She is one of just four nominees in the country for that award.

She talks with All Things Considered host Brady Carlson about how she teaches literacy through music and how overcoming challenges growing up in Manchester helps her reach students who could benefit from joining band and chorus.

Thu January 17, 2013

Virginia Prescott chats candidly with Guster's Ryan Miller. Topics include: flying to the wrong city for a show, drawing album art on iPads, not wanting to listen to your own music, and the struggle to age gracefully as a band.

Word of Mouth

1:06 pm

Thu December 20, 2012

Like any major life event, the annihilation of life as we know it deserves a soundtrack. It’s easy to decide what to listen to when the four horsemen of the apocalypse are coming around the bend…So, for everybody hosting an “end of the world party” in the next 48 hours, we compiled a few suggestions to help you kick out the jams one final time.

Donato Cabrera is the man Festival officials say will provide “bold, visionary leadership” in the years to come. But first, he joins All Things Considered host Brady Carlson to talk about his new job - which, by the way, is in addition to jobs with orchestras in San Francisco and Green Bay.

Word of Mouth

10:43 am

Thu October 25, 2012

Schooled in jazz and infatuated with pop… the Brooklyn based bandLake Street Dive came together at the New England Conservatory with a goal to play improvised, avant-garde country music. Think Loretta Lynn meets Ornette Coleman. Yeah, it sounded about as rough as it is to imagine.

Word of Mouth

12:01 pm

Wed October 17, 2012

Recent studies out of Duke University have discovered that everyone’s favorite lab rat, the humble mouse, has a penchant for singing – and more importantly, singing in tune...in a way. Producer Taylor Quimby is Word of Mouth’s always willing investigator of strange science, and he has the story.

Check out Cinderella's singing mice. They are true heroes:

Word of Mouth

1:40 pm

Thu September 27, 2012

West African singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara has a back story not unlike many of today’s cosmopolitan Africans. She was born in Ivory Coast to parents from Mali and now lives in Paris. She’s a stage and film actress, singer, and songwriter. There's a world of experience that shines through on her album ‘Fatou’ which plays to her roots, but retains an infectious western pop sensibility. Fatoumata and her band are playing tonight at the Dana Center, St.

Giving Matters

12:00 am

Sat September 15, 2012

The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music brings musicians from around the globe to tiny Nelson, New Hampshire. They learn and share chamber music, and come to understand one another’s cultures and perspectives. Amelia Perron talks about her experience there.

Word of Mouth

10:59 am

Mon September 10, 2012

The unsteady path of an artist is never an easy one. Especially in today’s ambiguous economy, the choice to reject a steady paycheck or conventional job is all the more difficult to justify. One Portland, Maine-based songwriter has made that conundrum into a source of inspiration. Zach Nugent takes us on a radio field trip to meet Sara Hallie Richardson.

Word of Mouth

11:31 am

Thu August 30, 2012

As Hurricane Isaac continues to creep over the Gulf Coast and cause massive flooding, we can’t help but think of Katrina, and the devastation that storm left in her wake. Images this week of weary Louisiana residents make it difficult to remember the hopeful, yet not always easy rebirth of New Orleans after that storm.

Word of Mouth

10:19 am

Tue August 28, 2012

Some conversations you just can't pass up. For me, talking to this man was one of them.

When The Reverend Al Green takes the stage at the Music Hall in Portsmouth tonight, many people will be able to sing along with his hits. We reached him before he left for Portsmouth to explore some of the lesser known songs of the man who has aided in countless seductions.

NH News

4:44 pm

Wed August 8, 2012

Listeners tuning in to WWHK in Concord might remember the station as the “The Hawk,” which had a classic rock format.

Now, the station has changed its tune in a big way. Classical covers of songs like “Pour Some Sugar on Me” are all that have played on 102.3 for weeks. The music, recorded by the L.A.-based Vitamin String Quartet, is a placeholder, and not likely to last.

Word of Mouth

2:42 pm

Tue August 7, 2012

Here at Word of Mouth, we receive dozens of unsolicited albums each week to be reviewed for potential segments on the show. So what, you may ask, enticed me to pop David Friedenberg's newest album into my computer and give it a good long listen? It may have been the letter enclosed in the CD case, addressed to Laura Knoy, that suggested she might find this new and "more political" album interesting.

Word of Mouth

10:44 am

Thu August 2, 2012

Last weekend was the Ossipee Valley Music Festival in South Hiram,Maine. The festival is a weekend long event with four stages of Americana, Bluegrass, and Rockabilly music from bands all over the world. But the real party starts when the sun goes down at the raucous Saturday night barn dance. Word of Mouth intern Zach Nugent decided to shake a leg and bring us this audio post card.

Check out the barn dance band, The Defibulators:

Word of Mouth

9:18 am

Thu July 26, 2012

Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy met in 2005 working on a soundtrack for the French film, Empire of the Wolves – the songs they wrote afterwards would eventually be released under the name “The Dø.” The online release of their first four songs had built “The Dø” an instant fan base – and with almost no experience playing live shows as a band, Dan and Olivia suddenly found themselves in front of packed audiences at a series of sold-out Parisian concerts. Two full-length albums and hundreds of performances later, Word of Mouth producer Taylor Quimby

Next week the band Level3 will perform at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton - despite the fact that Level3 is a fictional band.

Confused yet? Not to worry – it’s all part of a new young adult novel called Reunited, in which three young women drive from New England to Texas to see the one-night-only reunion concert of their once-favorite band, Level 3.

Word of Mouth

11:12 am

Mon July 16, 2012

Digital musicologists around the world are using computers to analyze music in ways humans can’t. Turning beautiful melodies into cold hard numbers has given us insight into how music works, why we like it, and what it says about our culture as a whole.

Word of Mouth

9:22 am

Wed July 11, 2012

Blues, folk, and occasional rock and roll troubadour Chris Smither has been packing big ideas into 3-minute ditties for decades now. The former New Orleanian has long made New England a home and he’s part of a Woody Guthrie tribute at the Green River Festival in Greenfield Massachusetts this weekend.

Word of Mouth

9:05 am

Wed July 11, 2012

As a music video director Dan Huiting has worked with many prominent musicians such as Bon Iver and Andrew Bird. In addition to directing music videos Huiting is the senior producer of the "City of Music" series on Pitchfork.TV, photography director and editor at MN Original on TPT, and a filmmaker.

All Things Considered

5:27 pm

Fri July 6, 2012

The Monadnock Music Festival’s 47th season is getting underway, and the group is calling the new season the start of a new era, after a period of reorganization both in Monadnock Music’s structure and in leadership.

It’s summer camp season – these days kids can spend a week on almost any activity they like, from sports and the outdoors to computers and robotics. Since the late 1960’s, kids who love music have been heading to Bennington, Vermont, which is home to a piano camp known as Summer Sonatina.

Word of Mouth

10:20 am

Wed June 20, 2012

Here on Word of Mouth, we’re always trying to bring you the story, the angle, or the artist you’ve never heard… but because it takes buzz to make buzz, we rarely get to highlight the work of someone who’s work has yet to be discovered at all. Last week our intern Emma Ruddock brought seventeen year-old singer-songwriter Tim Scott to our studio, and right away we recognized a rare talent in the shy high-schooler from Milford, New Hampshire.